Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad

Important Information for Fulbright-Hays Applicants

Follow all application instructions per the Fulbright-Hays application information. Discrepancies may result in automatic disqualification. Attention to detail is critical.

Follow the internal UH campus deadline, not what is listed in the Federal Register Notice for this award. The campus deadline is usually three to four weeks before the national deadline.

Read and follow all applications instructions very carefully and upload all information well in advance of the internal UH determined application deadline. Late applications will not be accepted. The Project Director at Graduate Education will review your application and via ORS, submits all applicants’ materials. The time is necessary to ensure your application is complete and ready to be submitted by the Project Director. If there are changes that need to be made, the Project Director will contact the applicant.

For other questions, please contact the Project Director in Graduate Education.

Do not finalize your application (i.e., Submit) on-line until all of your references have submitted their letter and all of your materials have been uploaded. Final submission by you will lock out any other submissions. Be sure to heed the internal UH deadline for all materials.

Check with the local embassy or consulate about how long it takes to get a student visa for the country to which you are applying, and what is required. Keep in mind that you should time your start date based on when you can reasonably expect to get your visa processed, once you get notice of the award.

Affiliation with a university in the country where you will do your research is strongly recommended. It helps you get the Fulbright, and expedites the visa process. Find out how much it costs to be affiliated with a university, what the procedures are and how long this takes. Just a letter from a professor who is in the nation where you plan to study strengthens your chance of acceptance; but you should consider getting official affiliation paperwork once you are accepted and start to process your visa.

To be eligible to apply for this award, you will need to be ABD and in good standing by the time you travel and if a Committee on Human Subjects (CHS) approval is needed, you need to provide a CHS number before you can leave. Enrollment at UH is also required for the duration of your time away.

If you are already in the country where you want to study, find out about extending or doing a status change for your visa rather than getting a whole new one. It is often much simpler and takes less time. Be sure to communicate with the Project Director about this situation.

Submit a realistic budget. Remember to consider both American and in-country insurance costs when doing your budget. Some countries (such as Japan) require or strongly recommend that students have national insurance. Health care is also easier to obtain if you have in-country in addition to American coverage.

When you budget for your airplane ticket, you should only research the costs of airfare per the Fly America Act regulations. Do not book your ticket until you have been awarded and your Grant Activation Request is approved. This might result in the cost increasing since air fares change over time, but you should not pay for a ticket until you are certain to have the funds.

Keep in mind that student insurance is billed August to August, and visas are usually for a year starting from the date they are issued. These dates may or may not coincide with your official start date for Fulbright-Hays. If the dates do not coincide, keep in mind that you will have to renew your visa and insurance, and again, provide this information to your Project Director.

If you’re ever in doubt about something or need clarification, please ask the Project Director. Also, don’t wait until the last minute to ask. Often the Project Director will also need to consult the Fulbright-Hays DDRA project manager and response time may take up to a couple of days.